Alameda officials to consider accepting former Navy base property

ALAMEDA -- The city is expected to soon take control of about 1,370 acres of the former Alameda Naval Air Station from the federal government, a move that city officials say will help ease the way toward redeveloping the land.

On Tuesday, the City Council will consider adopting a resolution approving the conveyance of the property -- which is divided into 66 parcels -- from the U.S. Navy. It consists of 509 acres of land and 870 acres of property under San Francisco Bay just off the former base, now known as Alameda Point.

The parcels have restrictions on how they may be redeveloped based on what they were once used for and how much environmental clean-up they need.

The land could be turned over to the city as soon as the end of this month or early June, according to Jennifer Ott, the city's chief operating officer for Alameda Point.

"The detailed parcelization will allow the city to assemble and sell parcels for private development with clear information about the specific conditions relevant to each parcel," Ott said in a background report for the council. "If fewer, larger parcels had been created instead, environmental restrictions and notifications would appear on deeds for many areas that do not need them potentially, creating a challenge in understanding which restrictions and notifications would apply to which portions of each parcel."

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The aim is to avoid uncertainty among investors about the environmental conditions of the property, which could effect its marketability.

Clearing the way for the conveyance of the property follows the U.S. Navy agreeing to drop the $108 million price tag for the former base in September 2011 and give it at no cost to the city. Mayor Marie Gilmore called it "a watershed moment" toward redeveloping the site, which makes up about one-third of the city.

Alameda and Navy officials worked out the agreement while negotiating a no-cost conveyance plan for the 50 acres at the former base that the city had proposed for the second campus of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, a deal that fell through.

The passage of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010, which included provisions related to economic development conveyances, also played a part in the deal, according to Alameda officials.

The city lost about 14,000 military and civilian jobs when the former Navy base closed in 1997. Alameda officials believe up to 9,000 permanent jobs will be created and millions of dollars in local and state tax revenues will be generated as the former base is redeveloped for commercial and residential uses.

In other business Tuesday, the council will consider a one-year lease amendment for the Bay Ship & Yacht Co. at the former base. The company rents a 2,700-square-foot building, plus 18,000-square-feet of land at the former base for $14,400 a year.

The company began leasing the site at 1450 Ferry Point in August 2007.